A Martinez:  Why He Still Finds Working in Daytime Exciting!

by Lillian Smith

Soap Opera People, July, 1991

Thanks to Anne in Australia!

    "We've been living in a trailer now for a year and a few months.  It's not bad.  When we were on our vacation the mice sort of took over.  They broke into it and ate a lot of stuff and the ants moved in.  I guess there was a lot of rain while we were gone," A said laughing.  Nothing seems to bother this man!

    "So the mice took over," I prompted him.

    "We've been trapping them and taking them out to the country and letting them go.  We've probably captured around fifteen or so in the month before we left," he told me.

    "I'm much nastier than that, I like them dead," I said.

    "Well, that might be more efficient, but I can't deal with like having to take off little animal carcasses," A replied.

    "No, well you just scoop up the trap and throw the whole thing away."

    "Throw out a trap a day," he was grinning.  "But these are cute little mice though, you know.  They're real cute and furry and they have like cute little eyes and the kids are watching, so we've been trapping them.  But it occurred to me maybe it's like Lassie and the monsters are honing their way back into the trailer from the country."

    "They might think, 'Hey that was kind of fun, let's do it again.'"

    "Is it on your land where you are building your house?"

    "Yes.  It's definitely okay and the only time it's weird is when the kids are cranky.  Then it kind of gets a little bit too small.  But when the kids are in a good mood, it's perfectly cool for us," A said seriously.

    "Well, they can run back and forth in there," I suggested.

    "They do.  They turn it into a track," A nodded.

    "How are Cody and Devon coming along?"

    "I think Cody is becoming a bit more sociable than he was when he was younger.  He's a real private person in a lot of ways."

    "I sort of visualize you might have been that way," I mused.

    "Yes, my mother says that I was very much the way he is now.  Yes, a lot of very strong inner monologue going on all the time, almost all the time.  A lot of times it translates as indifference towards other people, but I don't really think that's the case.  I see a big streak of empathy in him.  He sees someone who's in jeopardy or pain on TV or real life, he really stops whatever he's doing and tries to figure out if there is anything he can do to make the situation better," A explained.  "And that's a real gentle aspect of him."

    He went on, "And Devon is extremely gregarious and sociable, very much aware of how she affects other people, physically courageous, even reckless, and quite a remarkable show."

    "She probably knows how to play you," I suggested.

    "She's definitely showing signs of trying to learn.  She hasn't really singled me out that much in terms of..... she's really interested in how everyone relates to her.  She's very much plugged into offensive network when it comes to socializing and I think she's going to have, when you watch the way she goes about her business, a fairly easy passage."

    "What are their favorite toys, things..."

    "Well, Cody is fanatical about trains, anything to do with them, books about trains, he draws them.  When we were on vacation he found a way to drag a beach chair in the sand so it would make it more like he had a train track that he could fantasize trains were running down and stuff."

A and wife Leslie at the SB cast party.

    That vacation was in Maui, Hawaii.  It is Leslie and A's favorite place and they even named their baby girl Devon Makena, a place they love.  So they took her there so she could see what her name is all about.

    "We took my parents and had a very relaxing time.  I think when you get deeper into family life it becomes easier to unwind, maybe it's just the function of exhaustion," he grinned.

    "Well, you do work hard," I began.

    "We used to talk about vacations and by the time you learn to relax, it's time to come home.  We found ourselves relaxing the instant we touched ground.  It was just incredibly rejuvenating, the way you dream a vacation should be."

    "Well, on Santa Barbara now, Cruz and especially Eden seem to be in a weird situation with the strange man running around and Eden having flashbacks and she won't talk but she's married to a cop...it looks like she was a busy young girl.  And she never remembers any of these things," I posed.

    "Well, you know what they say, once an amnesiac, always an amnesiac," A said, laughing.  "I don't know.  I can't tell any more what would be wise.  It just boggles my mind that people can write soap operas on any level at any time.  And I just can't muster the critical facility to make a judgment about it.  It's a miracle that they think of anything for any of us to do.  I know some shows go on 10,000 episodes all over the place in this genre, but it seems amazing to me that it still flows along," A told me.

A has nothing but praise for his co-star Marcy Walker.  Their costumes were part of the show's storyline.

   "The only thing is, it seems like a repetition in that another man shows up from Eden's past and once again she doesn't remember," I said.

    "Yeah.  You could make a case for that.  I'm sure they have an answer standing by to counter such criticism, but we have to wait and see what the story is.  And you'll see the differences and it may lead to another side of her personality in even greater clarity than was the case with Robert Barr.  The way I figure it is anything that lets Marcy Walker spread her wings acting-wise is to be given the benefit of the doubt.  We've already done a couple of scenes where this old person she used to be has sort of flipped into her mind in the middle of a scene, but I must say I have been very impressed with what she has done with it as an actress after all the water under the bridge with us.  It's quite an achievement I think to be impressing me the way she is with this stuff," A said.

    "True, but where does this leave you though?"

    "That was quite exciting actually to do something that was so compelling in the moment and so unexpected that it led us into fresh territory.  That's interesting.  You don't get a chance to do that too often."

    "Do you and Leslie ever get a chance to do things together?"

    "When we were on our vacation we swam in the ocean every day.  It's probably the thing that most refreshes us.  She's a wonderful swimmer," A told me.

    "That's right, I remember you telling me that a long time ago," I agreed.

    "Yes.  It's such a treat to be underwater with her.  When we went up to the north shore of Maui where the wind surfing championships are held, the ocean is not so polite as it is on the west side of the island.  And to watch Leslie in the water when it's really choppy out there and the waves are big and to see her underneath in her environment is really inspiring.  I found myself worrying that she was going to get some kind of narcosis where she, like those divers do when they've had too much nitrogen, her eyes get big as pies and she'll flash me the okay sign every three minutes as she is zooming around there and I always start to think about 'don't get caught up in the wrong current darling.  Or, keep your eyes open for the big fish.'  But it's really inspirational and we had a magic time on that level.  We got to swim every day for twelve days."

    "Do you like to read?"

    "Yes, I do.  But I was thinking about this lately, I'm not very well read for a person in my position.  I mean, most of the people I work with read more consistently.  Marcy reads a book every month at least.  I probably read a couple a year.  But, you know, there's a time for everything and I imagine there will come a time when I'll be able to devote myself to deepening myself in that sense.  I used to read.  Nowadays I don't have the time."

    "Do you have any new jobs on the horizon?"

    "No.  I don't.  I have a development deal in place at NBC to try to either match me up with some nighttime show or have me participating in creating one.  So far it hasn't turned into much activity.  It's sort of like a deal and I'm not sure what value it will have, if any."

    "And how about the house you are building, how is that coming?"

    "We have the foundation in and the plywood down on top of the foundation, so we're sort of still on the ground but there's some activity now," he said, laughing, because A and I have been talking about the house for two or more years.  These days Leslie is the one working with the contractor and they get along beautifully, so A is relieved about that and hopeful the house may be ready in a year....better yet, he hopes by Christmas.

    "What kind of car are you driving?"

    "I'm driving a Ford pick-up.  It's very handy and you find out real quick when you're out there in the mud that you need a four wheel drive and you need something in the back to haul stuff around and not worry about your upholstery," A laughed again.

    "But Cody loves the pick-up truck.  He likes to climb in the big bed on the back and climb in the sliding window behind the driver's head.  It's like really cool having a pick-up."

    "Well, everything sounds pretty good, is that right?" I asked A.

    "Yes.  It's a sweet time, you know?"

    "Watching Cody and Devon grow, right?"

    "Yes!" A said happily.  "And with the new mode of working on Santa Barbara, sometimes you go in the morning and are out by afternoon, or vice versa.  So I've seen the children more than I have in a long time."

    Now, if Cruz could just get things squared away with Eden and her problems...everything would be really cool.  Thank heavens, most of his frustrations are on the set, make believe....but then that's what makes work interesting!

At the SB fan club luncheon, A posed with fan club president Kim Jalet.

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